


Right Turn

by MissLearn



Series: Walking in his Shoes [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Bodyswap, Crack Treated Seriously, Ficlet, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 06:42:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19762696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissLearn/pseuds/MissLearn
Summary: Obi-Wan and Anakin are inspired to change direction





	Right Turn

**Author's Note:**

> Once again I owe a big thank you to Guardian_of_Hope for letting me twist her idea. Check out their story 'Reflection Unknown' - it is awesome. Also thanks to @Krikkel for betaing this for me - you are the best!
> 
> I do recommend reading Backstep and Direction before launching into this little ficlet, but the story so far is that Anakin and Obi-Wan have woken up in the past, in each other's bodies. Navigation issues ensue.

Anakin – or little Obi-Wan – gaped at Master Qui-Gon pathetically, unable to make sense of what he was hearing. Sure, he was tired after managing to survive the Council’s insistent questioning (and poking and prodding with the Force) without totally destroying the timeline, and he supposed that he could account some of his confusion to his… _predicament._ But, somehow, neither really excused exactly how caught off guard he was by the towering Master’s words.

When Qui-Gon had pulled him aside after he _finally_ convinced _enough_ of the Council that he ‘ _honestly’_ just fainted, he thought the Master might have been going to ask him – Obi-Wan – to be his Padawan. For a moment, he had felt excited. He had never actually been _asked._ Well, he guessed he had sort of been back on Tatooine, but he hadn’t known the significance, and it had always been a maybe. So the prospect of actually being given a choice stirred something in his heart.

However, when words finally tumbled from the Master’s mouth, the excitement was quickly replaced with confusion.

Qui-Gon called _him_ angry. He called Obi-Wan angry. _Too_ angry, in fact, and it just didn’t compute. Yeah, sure, he had seen Obi-Wan lose his temper, hell, he was often the one that had caused the Master to do so, but it wasn’t... It didn’t run hot, or burn for days at a time, or smolder in the depths of his heart… not like Anakin’s did. It was always controlled and he always let it go in time.

Shaking his head slowly, he stared up at Qui-Gon’s frowning face wondering if it was his fault: that Qui-Gon had somehow sensed what was hidden behind his fortified mental shields.

The thought caused his heartbeat to quicken as panic set in. He couldn’t fail Obi-Wan _now!_ “Wait! You’re making a mistake!”

Qui-Gon’s eye’s widened for a moment, then his frown deepened, obviously not impressed by Anakin’s plea. “Look, you have to understand… I- I’ve- I’ve seen it! You were Obi- Shavit- _my_ Master – when- I mean, _in_ , er- a dream! In a dream I had… And as your student I was- er- became an amazing Jedi. Wiser than Master Yoda, stronger than Master Windu…” Anakin trailed off because he could see that he was only damaging Obi-Wan’s chances further.

Qui-Gon shook his head sadly. “It is better not to train a boy to become a Knight if he has so much anger. There is a risk he will turn to the dark side.”

The room felt like it was spinning. How was this happening? Surely this wasn’t how it went… because if so, how did Obi-Wan end up as Qui-Gon’s Padawan? And- _And_ what changed between now and the moment when Qui-Gon decided to take a slave boy from Tatooine back to the Temple, a boy who Obi-Wan, and the entire Council, dubbed to be so very dangerous?

 _“But-“_ he said in one last, desperate attempt to stop this from happening.

Qui-Gon sighed, “Dreams pass in time, little one, it is dangerous to put so much emphasis on them-”

Whatever Master Jinn said after that was lost on him. The room stopped spinning in a jerking halt, and everything slowed to the point just before stillness when every tiny movement was loud and seemed oh-so-important. But the noise wasn’t enough to steal his focus from the words that the Master had spoken. They echoed continuously in the space around him, driving home how much he didn’t know. Driving home that he was wrong – about so much.

This wasn’t his fault.

This – _This_! - had actually happened.

Qui-Gon had turned Obi-Wan away because he was too angry?!

Anakin forced himself to stop because giving into the anger that was spreading through his chest like a devastating plague was only going to make things worse for little Obi-Wan. He took a breath in, mentally preparing himself for the challenge that he always found letting go to be… then found it was completely unnecessary.

For Obi-Wan, letting go was apparently as easy as breathing out.

Anakin’s brow furrowed as he c _almly_ worked through what had just happened. A moment ago, he was _furious!_ Furious at Qui-Gon for doing to Obi-Wan exactly what the Jedi Council had done to him. Furious at Obi-Wan – _his Obi-Wan -_ for never telling him that it happened this way or that he’d struggled with his anger once too! And at himself for assuming otherwise. For never asking! For being wrong, wrong, _wrong_! And then, it was gone.

 _It makes sense, I guess_ , he thought, finally understanding why Obi-Wan had always seemed to think that letting go of emotion was as easy as breathing (because it actually was!). Then he shook his head and returned his gaze to Qui-Gon.

The man was looking at him differently now, and Anakin couldn’t help but think that it was so typical. It was a little crushing to find out that the man he had worshipped for so long turned out to be the same as all the other Jedi who weren’t willing to look past their fears (as much as they preached that it was the path to the dark side.)

 _Well, kriff him. Obi-Wan deserves better, and it’s not like I want to be a Padawan again anyway_. A part of his mind tried to inform him that choosing a different path for Obi-Wan wasn’t exactly what he had decided to do earlier, but he quickly pushed it aside. Changing plans in an instant was nothing new to him.

“I guess they do, if you choose to give up on them,” Anakin replied belatedly, his eyes narrowing into a glare as he considered all the ones he had left behind over the years. “But it has to be better to pursue your dreams than to be led by fear… Right?”

* * *

Obi-Wan sighed inwardly as he stared at the dead-end before him, coming to the conclusion that he was lost… for the second time that day.

It wasn’t a problem that he often encountered. During the early days of his apprenticeship his Master had drilled into him the importance of memorizing maps and plans before arriving at new places, and as a Knight, he had fine-tuned his ability to reach out with the Force and find whatever he sought. But it wasn’t as though there were guides on the corner offering maps of Mos Espa’s slave quarter, and he wasn’t yet certain how anyone found anything in the living Force. The place was like a circus: bright light, rich color and deafening noise in every direction!

Obi-Wan turned slowly, almost begrudgingly, and began limping back the other way, struggling not to blame others for his current predicament. _If Anakin had just given me some time to decipher the ancient text on the front of that Temple... If Watto was even half decent, I would still be in Anakin’s childhood room (Honestly, what sort of being makes an injured child work the day after nearly dying in a podrace that they financed?). Nor would I be in such a rush to get back if Shmi Skywalker wasn’t such a wonderful mother to Anakin. If she wasn’t so very worried about him._

Obi-Wan had no doubt that she knew something was wrong with her son. He had clearly not acted like Anakin normally did (despite desperately trying to do so) since she had brought him back to the hovel she – they – called home. Thankfully what had happened was ridiculously far-fetched, because if it was something she had heard of, she would no doubt suspect it. He was fast learning that she was just as intelligent as her son… And that she loved and cared for Anakin as much as h-

Obi-Wan curled his small hands into fists as he absently turned another corner. Another problem with being so uncomfortable with Anakin’s connection to the Force was that he was finding it incredibly difficult to let go, despite _knowing_ he needed to. He was certain there was a way, there were other Master’s who preferred the Living Force and they managed to achieve peace, he simply didn’t know how. In fact, he was starting to wonder if Anakin had ever worked it out.

He supposed that wasn’t fair. His former student was able to achieve balance if he spent enough time… oh…in a moving meditation.

Lifting his good hand to rub his chin he wondered if he could do something similar. He wasn’t terrible at mechanics (he had just managed to survive the day at the junkyard without giving himself away) but he wasn’t nearly as inspired as Anakin, nor was it an interest of his. He couldn’t imagine spending hours tinkering for fun, and he somehow doubted he would find _peace_ doing so. But, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t use the strategy; he would just have to come up with a different focus. If he was stuck here, as he suspected he was, he was going to need to find some way of restoring his center, otherwise, he would be far more dangerous than Anakin ever was.

“ANAKIN!”

Obi-Wan snapped out of his thoughts, whipping around to face the person that had called his former padawan's name only to find himself face to face with a dark-haired human boy who was similar in age to young Anakin – _him_ – and who also wore the garments of a slave.

“What the hell are you doing!” the boy cried, grabbing his right shoulder roughly and using it to guide him back down the street he’d just walked up. “Your Mom said you’d gone a bit weird after losing the race, but fierfek Ani, I never thought you’d take the easy way out.”

Obi-Wan blinked, not exactly sure what the boy meant, but not really sure that it was a good idea to ask. “That’s my broken arm you are pulling…” he muttered instead, because the sudden pain caused by the pressure on his healing arm wasn’t exactly something he could ignore, even if it was relatively minor compared to some the injuries he’d endured since the beginning of the war.

“Shavvit, sorry!” the boy (Anakin’s friend?) yelped, halting and turning to face him. “I just, Ani, you can’t do that! Your Mom – she’d be so sad, and I- we made a pact remember, the only excuse for disappearing is freedom. Not- not… _that_.”

The tears that sparkled in the corners of the boy's eyes made Obi-Wan’s heart clench. Clearly, they were close friends, which, for all he was glad, he was also a little disheartened because he had no inkling of the boy’s name. Why hadn’t he ever asked Anakin about his life on Tatooine? Had he been too lost in grief? Or had he thought that reminiscing would somehow impede his student’s ability to move forward? And what about later? What was stopping him from asking now? Anakin was his closest friend and it was becoming more and more obvious just how little he knew about him.

Trying not to dwell on his hurt, he glanced back, over his shoulder, wondering again what it was that he had done to upset Anakin’s friend so drastically. At first, he couldn’t see any reason at all, although he was surprised when he realized he had somehow made it to the outskirts of the city and seemed to have been approaching the desert. 

_I suppose he thought I was running away,_ he thought, but then it occurred to him that leaving was not an option. That being a slave was not a choice.

“Oh!” he gasped, his eyes widening, “Oh, dear Force.”

“Promise me, you won’t do that again,” Anakin’s friend implored, eyeing him suspiciously (probably due to the unfamiliar words that had fallen out of Anakin’s mouth) but evidently deciding that his request was more important. “Promise me that you won’t go so far!”

Obi-Wan stared at the boy, his mind already lost in a memory from years ago when he watched on as Master Che carefully removed a chip from Anakin’s hip. _I forgot about the slave chip,_ he thought, mortified. _Stars above, I nearly killed… myself? Anakin? Both of us?_

Dragging his hand down his face, it occurred to him that despite often saying that Anakin would likely be the death of him, he had never once envisioned that it would be like this.

“Promise me, Ani!” the dark-eyed boy begged frantically.

“I promise! My apo- Sorry I- I forgot. I was thinking about– I was trying to figure out-“ Obi-Wan paused, carefully planning his reply. It was obvious now that the structure was just as important as the content. “I was trying to figure out how I could disable them! I just want to free everyone!”

The boy sighed, but there was a fondness there that made Obi-Wan relax, knowing he’d managed to talk the boy around. “You say that every day, Ani,” he said with a smile.

Obi-Wan tried to smile in return but he knew whatever he had managed wasn’t even close to the grin that Anakin would have responded with. In his defense, it was difficult to smile when he felt as though someone had driven their lightsaber through his heart. He had no doubt that what his – Anakin’s – young friend had said was the truth because during their first few years together Anakin had continued to do so, right up until Obi-Wan had been told by the Council to tell him that it just wasn’t possible.

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hide from the memory of utter despair that had been written all over Anakin’s face. He’d tried so hard not to destroy Anakin’s hopes and dreams… and yet…

Feeling someone squeeze his good arm, he opened his eyes again and turned to look, once again into the dark eyes that belonged to Anakin’s friend. They were forgiving, but then, the boy didn’t _know._

“If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Obi-Wan blinked, wondering for a split second if he was wrong and that the boy knew exactly who he was because while he wasn’t the greatest mechanic, he had almost all the knowledge and skills (not to mention experience) necessary to plan and lead a rebellion. In fact, he was possibly the only person in a million parallels that had both the ability and wherewithal…

But he couldn’t, could he?

Could he?

Then he spotted his reflection in a window and saw the same hope that had been in his Anakin’s eyes every single time he’d asked when they would return to Tatooine to free the slaves, and his decision was made.

It might ruin Anakin’s chance to be a Jedi – but if he could pull it off, he doubted Anakin would mind. After all, it was _right_.


End file.
